Category Archives: Racism

It seems that people are becoming more and more creative with how they show their hate. “ ‘Preliminary investigation reveals that this type of material is used to contain loose items during transport.’ ” I find it hard to believe that’s what it was used for. So this is just a coincidence? On the same campus where Richard Collins III was killed by Sean Christopher Urbanski, who belonged to a Facebook group called “Alt-Reich: Nation” that promotes hate against African Americans and others. It is also the same place where a noose was found in May and several racist posters. That’s one big coincidence.

Angry students at the University of Maryland, College Park were in an uproar on Tuesday because someone claimed to discover a piece of plastic wrap vaguely coiled into the shape of a noose. Two unidentified people found the tangled, frayed strip of plastic lying partially on a sidewalk near fraternity row, reports The Diamondback, the University of Maryland student newspaper. The people who found the plastic wrap took it for a noose and hastily reported it to campus police “out of concern for possible hate-bias,” according to statement released by school administrators. “Preliminary investigation reveals that this type of material is used to contain loose items during transport,” the report also said, according to Campus Reform.

USA TODAY: A section of rope was found near the MLK Memorial in Washington on Friday, two days after a noose was discovered inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, U.S. Park Police said.

Like this:

Over the past few weeks, several nooses have been found in the DMV area, with more than two found in the District of Columbia. So does the hate for Blacks still exist? Yes it does. The door to racism never closed, and under the Trump Presidency the crack opens wider and wider. Below are the reported nooses found in our area:

A noose was found Saturday on the Mall, at least the third in that area in recent weeks. The noose was hanging from a lamppost near the National Gallery of Art, said Sgt. Anna Rose, spokeswoman for the U.S. Park Police. She said it was found about 3 p.m. near Third Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The site is near the gallery’s East Building. One noose was found in a tree May 26 near the Hirshhorn Museum, and another was found May 31 inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Park Police are investigating, Rose said.

NBC WASHINGTON: Montgomery County Police said the synthetic rope noose was found in a tree in a common area near the the Heron’s Cove Condominium parking lot about 8 a.m. Officers responded shortly before 9:10 a.m. to community, which is located in the 18900 block of Mills Choice Road of Montgomery Village.

CNN: A person dressed in black from head to toe walked around the American University campus and tied bananas to three trees. They were hung from strings fashioned in the shape of nooses. The bananas were scrawled with the letters “AKA Free.”

CNN: For the second time in a week, a noose was found on Smithsonian grounds — this time, at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. The noose was found Wednesday in the history galleries of the Washington museum, which was opened last year by President Barack Obama.

CNN: A noose has been found at a construction site in the District of Columbia, police said — at least the fifth time this symbol of racial violence has turned up in the Washington area recently. Officers went to a house under construction in southeast Washington on Thursday morning and “discovered a rope, tied in a noose, displayed by the front door,” a police report said.

WTOP: The hate symbol was found displayed by a front door in the 2100 block of 36th Place SE on Thursday, according to a D.C. police report. The report lists the victims as “Society/Public.” The location of the noose is just up the street from Beers Elementary School and around the corner from Christian Praise Church.

USA TODAY: A section of rope was found near the MLK Memorial in Washington on Friday, two days after a noose was discovered inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, U.S. Park Police said. The piece of rope was found on a bench at the memorial on near the National Mall. A visitor turned it in at the memorial’s bookstore.

US NEWS AND WORD REPORT: Authorities at the University of Maryland are investigating a noose discovered in a fraternity house. Local news reports say the noose was found inside the house of the school’s Phi Kappa Tau chapter on April 27. Police at the university say they are investigating the matter as a hate/bias incident.

Like this:

Someone said,

“Whenever MLK left town, riots and violence followed. How was he about peace?”

My response was:

“He was about peace, and it was that fact that made whites DURING THAT TIME angry. But he knew what he was doing. The riots got media attention. Media played an important role in the Civil Rights movement. It got global attention and allies of the US started to question the US. They started asking “how can you come here and tell us how we should treat our people when you treat your own like trash.” When the US government started to lose support thanks to the media coverage of the riots, sit-ins, bombings, brutal beatings and killings, the government had to make changes and laws. It was a [very] good strategy to me.”

Like this:

Beep, beep, beepThis what I hear as I stare out of the window Onto the streets of this cityThis city is D.C.

This city is loudThis loud city Is unfairThis city is richBut also poorFor all its beautyThere’s ugliness too

The sounds of this city are not for meThe construction trucks, with their loud roars and clashes,Are not for meThey’re not for anything like meNot my skin color, or my hair textureNot for my disability, nor my many abilities

Beep, beep, beepI hear againAs I stare out of the window Onto the streets of this cityD.C. is the nameGod I hate this lovely city

Walking while Black, driving while Black, singing while Black, parenting while Black, just simply living while Black is dangerous. No matter how successful you are, your skin color makes you a target. Blacks in this country are looked at as all criminals, and in some cases we are not even seen as humans.

It’s sad, and I can remember when my mother would literally tell my brothers how they should look and act while out in public. How many white parents honestly have to tell their children to “keep your hands where they can be seen,” or to not “raise your voice around the police?” I also remember being with a group of friends and hearing or seeing a police car, and how we would get quiet. This wasn’t planned, it was programmed into us; we did get unconsciously because deep down we knew that we could be arrested.

Body cameras are completely useless because they can be altered, it’s not hard to do. On Thursday September 10, 2015, Black Lives Matter DMV and ACLU hosted a Town Hall on the Policing of Black Girls. As one of the facilitators for the Town Hall, it was my duty to ask my group “what the most essential problem is, and what is the most essential solution” was when they think about not only the policing of Black women, but of all People of Color. The problem was obvious; Black people in general are constantly being killed by the police.

Racism in the police department was also a major problem, and one of the main reason so many of our people are being killed. One middle school girl said that the solution is to have police who are not racist working in the police department. But how can we point out who and who is not racist exactly?

Unequal pay between Blacks and Whites is still a problem. According to CNN, “Over the past 25 years, the wealth gap between blacks and whites has nearly tripled, according to research by Brandeis University.” The median household wealth for Whites is $91,405, versus the $6,446 of Blacks. In July of 2014, the unemployment rate for Whites was at 5.3%, while Blacks were at 11.4%. How much more proof is needed? Why refuse to see things for what they really are?

Since the Black Lives Matter Movement started, there have been many people trying to turn it around and say that all lives matter. If all lives mattered, there would;t be a need for the Black Lives Matter Movement. People always tell Blacks to “stop pulling the race card.” Whenever this is said, I simply respond by saying, “we’ll stop pulling the race card when we are dealt new ones.

On July 30-August 3, 2015 I had the honor of attending the African American Policy Forum’s Healing and Arts Summer Camp where women and girls from all around the country joined together at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie New York.

During our stay, I had the chance to bond with some amazingly sweet and talented women and girls with many different backgrounds. I git to speak to and bond with family members of women killed by the police, such as the mother of Shelly Frey and the sister of Kayla more.

It amazes me that so many people don’t know who they are. But whenever a black man is killed we know all about it. Aren’t black women and girls worthy enough to have their pictures over the news? Is it fare to say that black girls do not need help?

At this vamp, we were there to learn many ways to advocate for women and girls, wether they were killed by the police, killed by their partners, raped, beaten, or locked up. We learned about the extremely high statistics about how many black girls are suspended, mainly for protecting themselves or standing up to young boys, versus the low amount of black boys. They are “Over policed and pushed out” and as a result, many don’t finish school.

Although this was a learning experience, it was also a time of healing and learning how to deal with out pains and struggles. Some of the testimonies that were shared are very sad. All weekend we cried.

We expressed our pains through art. We practiced, and practiced, and practiced until Sunday night. We also had the opportunity to learn a dance to perform.

After three days of crying for others and for ourselves, we partied.

This has been a great experience and I would definitely do it again. Thank you Professor Kimberle Crenshaw for an amazing experience. This camp has helped me figure out what I need to do not only for myself, but for all women and girls of color who are silenced. Let them be silenced no more, Break the silence and say her name.